"Being frank, brokers who write a lot of vanilla BTL business may be nervous to find that there will be fewer buy-to-let landlords overall going into 2026."
- Damien Druce - Black & White Bridging
An estimated 93,000 buy-to-let landlords are expected to exit the rental market this year, according to data from Black & White Bridging.
The company’s latest broker insights report shows intermediaries anticipate a 6% fall in the number of buy-to-let landlords in the UK by the end of 2025.
Figures from HMRC record 2.84 million unincorporated landlords in the UK in 2023. Based on data from the English Private Landlord Survey 2021, Black & White Bridging estimates that 57% of these landlords, equivalent to 1.62 million, held a buy-to-let mortgage.
The number of landlords with buy-to-let mortgages has already reduced. Black & White Bridging’s analysis suggests the market lost 65,000 landlords between 2023 and 2024, representing a 4% decrease.
“Not only does this survey indicate the loss of more than 150,000 landlords from the rental market over a two-year period, it also shows the rate of change is accelerating year-on-year,” explained Damien Druce, chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging. “It’s likely these are landlords with small portfolios of one or two properties, landlords who don’t want to face the ongoing changes to regulation and rising costs. Being frank, brokers who write a lot of vanilla BTL business may be nervous to find that there will be fewer buy-to-let landlords overall going into 2026."
“But we think the industry will be left with a more professional cohort that is more likely to embrace opportunities or property deals that require specialist finance. Professional landlords are more likely to be interested in bespoke auction products or a residential bridge to make quick property acquisitions and provide them with the time they need to organise tenants – even refurbishment bridge products can be used to fix up a bargain ahead of securing a buy-to-let mortgage. There will still be opportunities for brokers.”
Survey findings show differing expectations. While 23% of brokers believe buy-to-let landlord numbers will rise this year, 56% predict a decline.
The research was conducted as part of Black & White Bridging’s broker insights report in summer 2025.
